Urban myths about the Lead-contaminated KitchenAid Products

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January 24, 2023 – Tuesday

Check out the graphic above to read the myths (and truths) circulating about the Lead-contaminated KitchenAid products.

I may make a “pared down” version of this graphic later – but this is the best I could do with the time I had available to me today. Please share when / where relevant. Thank you! Text of each of the myths is below. All of the relevant links are below too. This is also on the public Lead Safe Mama page if you want to share it!

1. MYTH: Folks are saying “it is only the white paddles that test positive for Lead”.
   • TRUTH: It is not only the white paddles – it is any of the coated or bare metal (burnished) paddles EXCEPT those sold as the all-Stainless Steel “upgrade” [which are currently only available for the smaller models]
2. MYTH: Folks are saying “the mixer attachments are painted with Lead paint”.
   • TRUTH: They are NOT painted with Lead paint — the substrate (the base metal) is made of Lead-contaminated Aluminum.
3. MYTH: Folks are saying “the colorful enameled body of the mixers do not have Lead” – this is not 100% true.
   • TRUTH: Many of the colorful enamel bodies of the mixers (specifically the vintage ones) test positive for siginficant levels of Lead. We do not yet know what year this changed – but (based on evidence we have collected to date) it looks like they may have made the change to Lead-free enamels c. 1994, or possibly earlier.
4. MYTH: “You can test your attachments to see if they have Lead by using an inexpensive home test kit”.
   • TRUTH: Home test kits will not work on most consumer goods! Only scientific instrumentation can determine the presence of Lead in consumer goods like these. The home test kits were primarily designed to test for Lead in housepaint (and only at levels of 600 ppm and higher).
5. MYTH: “There is a recall for these Lead-contaminated KitchenAid products”.
   • TRUTH: There is no recall – yet – for these Lead-contaminated KitchenAid products. We have started a Change.org petition demanding a recall, but KitchenAid has not yet responded. As of 1/24/23 8:10 p.m., the petition [which was launched 1/22/23 (at 9:42 a.m. PST)] currently has 3,678 signatures.

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Relevant Links below:

1. Post with video of testing a KitchenAid paddle (purchased in December of 2022):

https://tamararubin.com/2022/12/lead-safe-mama-readers-told-me-kitchenaid-indicated-they-were-lawyering-up-so-i-created-a-series-of-videos-in-response/

2. December 2022 Overview Article (long but worth the read):

https://tamararubin.com/2022/12/a-point-by-point-response-to-kitchenaids-public-statements-regarding-lead-safe-mama-llcs-findings-of-lead-contamination-in-their-standard-mixer-attachments/

3. Template letter to KitchenAid (if you want to try to get free replacement paddles in Stainless):

https://tamararubin.com/2022/12/template-for-message-or-call-to-kitchenaid-demanding-lead-free-replacement-stand-mixer-attachments/

4. Original overview article from 2017:

https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/kitchenaid-attachments-c-2014-as-high-as-2434-ppm-lead/

5. My response to the KitchenAid boilerplate “Throughout our 111-year history:

https://tamararubin.com/2022/12/deconstructing-kitchenaids-greenwashed-response-to-the-findings-of-lead-in-their-stand-mixer-attachments/

6. Change dot org petition, please sign and share. Thank you.

https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/change-org-petition-demanding-kitchenaid-stop-selling-lead-contaminated-products/

7. December 2022 Update about Lead Safe Mama readers getting free replacement paddles

https://tamararubin.com/2022/12/december-2022-kitchenaid-update-re-lead-contaminated-cast-aluminum-kitchenaid-paddles-whisk-dough-hooks/

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